The new Aronia cultivar is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the inventor, Mark Henry Brand in Storrs, Conn. The objective of the breeding program was to produce new Aronia varieties that are low growing, compact plants with substantial bloom, high quality summer foliage and colorful fall foliage as well as novel growth forms of Aronia. The cross resulting in this new variety was made during May of 2006.
The seed parent is the, unpatented, commercial variety referred to as Aronia melanocarpa ‘UC012’. The pollen parent is the unpatented, commercial variety referred to as Aronia melanocarpa ‘UC017’. The new variety was discovered in May of 2011 by the inventor in a group of seedlings resulting from the 2006 crossing, in a greenhouse in Storrs, Conn.
Asexual reproduction of the new cultivar ‘UCONNAM165’ by tissue culture, using nodal initiation, was first performed during June of 2011, at a laboratory in Storrs Conn. Subsequent propagation by softwood cuttings has shown that the unique features of this cultivar are stable and reproduced true to type in 4 successive generations.